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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019592">Tug of War</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/groovyjinn/pseuds/groovyjinn'>groovyjinn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Danny Phantom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Injury, Casper High (Danny Phantom), College Admissions Stress, Gen, Grade 12, High School, Humour, I promise I kill the meat-eater vs vegan trope in this, Smelly Teenagers, Textbooks are a pain, There's a Christmas chapter, lockers, lots of bickering</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:02:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/groovyjinn/pseuds/groovyjinn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You both will be locker partners.”</p><p>Lancer just grew more annoyed hearing equal squawks of protest from the two boys. “I’m sorry, however, all locker partners must be in the same homeroom. Since everyone else has chosen their partners before you both had arrived, I have no choice but to pair you two together.”</p><p>“But…” Danny glanced over to his friends sitting near the back. They both were silently mouthing a ‘sorry’. “Can’t you pair me with Sam and Tucker? Wes can get his own locker!”</p><p>“Daniel, I’m afraid I can’t do that, unless you have a legitimate reason as to why you would not want to share your locker space with Wesley?” Mr. Lancer asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“I…” Danny trailed off. He peered over to Wes beside him, meeting his hateful glare. Of all people…</p><p>“I guess it’s settled then. Please take a seat boys.”</p><p>~</p><p>Danny's senior year at Casper High just started and there's a brand new locker sharing policy. Of all people, his locker partner turns out to be the one and only Wes Weston.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Danny Fenton &amp; Tucker Foley &amp; Sam Manson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>147</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Clam Chowder</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title comes from Tug Of War by Paul McCartney. Once again, I used a song that really doesn't have much to do with anything</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was the first day of school and Danny was already running late. Of all times for Skulker to have another go at hunting him, he had to pick today. Danny really had high hopes for this year. It was his last year of high school and he knew he had to buckle down now. Despite his grueling responsibilities as Danny Phantom, he’s gotten much better at balancing all his priorities in life since his awful freshman year. His improved grades were one indicator of that, which fuelled him with hope that his dreams of becoming an astronaut weren’t that impossible anymore. However, being late on the first day definitely isn’t a good sign.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flew inside Casper High and located the washrooms. He quickly floated into a stall, transformed to human, and ran out into the halls, searching for his homeroom with Mr. Lancer. He nervously gulped as his watch told him he was twenty minutes late. Hopefully Lancer won’t be too hard on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny’s face flushed when everyone in his homeroom stared at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Fenton, I see you’ve finally made it. I’m sure you must have an important reason for being late on the first day of class.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny nervously brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck as he looked away. “Heh, yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lancer squinted at him before continuing, “Nevertheless, I still think it’s important to hear what you have missed. Due to the growing student population at Casper High, this year students will have to share lockers with a partner in their homeroom. Considering your tardiness, I have no choice but to assign you with the only person left without a partner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, a red-haired boy burst into the classroom. “I’m so sorry Mr. Lancer! I jus—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Settle down Mr. Weston. I’m sure you also have your reasons. I was just telling Daniel here about the new locker sharing policy we have this year. You both will be locker partners.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lancer just grew more annoyed hearing equal squawks of protest from the two boys. “I’m sorry, however, all locker partners must be in the same homeroom. Since everyone else has chosen their partners before you both had arrived, I have no choice but to pair you two together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But…” Danny glanced over to his friends sitting near the back. They both were silently mouthing a ‘sorry’. “Can’t you pair me with Sam and Tucker? Wes can get his own locker!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daniel, I’m afraid I can’t do that, unless you have a legitimate reason as to why you would not want to share your locker space with Wesley?” Mr. Lancer asked, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Danny trailed off. He peered over to Wes beside him, meeting his hateful glare. Of all people…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess it’s settled then. Please take a seat boys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, relax, our locker combo is 10-22-15. You don’t have to listen to Lancer,” Tucker assured him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny spared his bland macaroni another glance before looking up at his two friends across the lunch table. “Are you guys sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The creep already is obsessed enough with collecting evidence on you. I’m sure he wouldn’t take the opportunity to snoop through your bag for granted,” Sam scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess...it’d be bad if he found the thermos like last time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny honestly wasn’t afraid of him revealing his secret anymore. After three years of Wes attempting and failing to convince the school that he’s Phantom, Danny was sure that even if he transformed right in front of everyone, they still wouldn’t believe Wes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, his reputation wouldn’t allow it. The kids at Casper High would believe anything else before considering that the “loser” Danny Fenton was associated with their powerful hero. The fact that Wes still was dedicated to his pointless quest went beyond the trio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nonetheless, he was still annoying. One time he stole the thermos and tried using it as proof in another one of his lunchtime demonstrations. Unfortunately, he accidentally hit the eject button and released an angry swarm of ghost wasps upon all the poor students in the cafeteria.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Also, Danny was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of Wes taking photos of him again during his fight with Skulker this morning. That’s probably why he was also late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your locker number again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“434. I think?” Tucker answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds about right,” Sam commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny shrugged on his backpack. “Alright, just gonna drop my new textbooks there. Be right back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon finding locker 434, Danny reached out for the lock, pausing when he drew a blank on the combination. Without another thought, he turned the lock intangible and phased it off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All two backpack hooks were occupied and the top shelf was already full with an assortment of math, biology, chemistry, and physics textbooks. As for the second shelf, Danny shoved aside a can of Tucker’s homemade cologne </span>
  <em>
    <span>Foley</span>
  </em>
  <span>, a spare PDA, and a couple of other things to make some space. However, a small flat square object wrapped in bright plastic fell to the ground. He picked it up and inspected it. Something seemed so familiar about it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tossed the pad back into the locker as if it burned him. Right, Sam was a girl. No, a woman. Right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right, back to what he was here for. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his new textbooks and a thermos currently hosting Skulker. There was barely enough space on the second shelf for just the thermos, but as he stooped to place his books at the bottom by Sam’s gym shoes, he gagged at the smell. He forgot how much her feet stunk sometimes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With resignation, he stood up and put his books back in his bag. It’s fine, he’s Danny Phantom, he’d once lifted a car before. He could definitely handle carrying around a few heavy textbooks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The back pain was unreal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After one whole week of lugging his four textbooks around from class to class, Danny couldn’t take it anymore. His mom has already started lecturing him about his posture again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t even leave some of them at home since he had the same classes every day. He also couldn’t bring himself to bug Sam and Tucker to make more space for him, their locker was practically overflowing with all the ghost hunting equipment he stores there now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Therefore, he had no choice. He made his way to locker 824 and fished out a crumpled piece of paper from the bottom of his bag. He grumbled as the combination Lancer wrote down for him didn’t work and he tried again. And again. He scanned the lockers around him just to make sure he was at the correct one. However, he did a double-take when he noticed that every single other locker had a different lock than the one in front of him. Did he...?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny tried the combination one last time and failed. The jerk changed the lock!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now thoroughly aggravated, Danny was about to just phase off the lock when he was interrupted by that same jerk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the heck are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny turned to glare angrily at Wes. “Why did you change the lock?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why does it matter to you? I thought you were fine sharing with your little sidekicks?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not my si—” Danny paused when he felt his ectoplasm burning colder beneath his skin. Get a grip Fenton. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After taking a breath, he continued, “Lancer told us we have to share. Tell me the new combo, I just need to keep my textbooks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes stared incredulously at him before replying, “No way man, I’m not giving you free rein to snoop through my stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why on earth would I want to do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, why do you try to hide your true intentions through false heroism.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t ha—Wes, just tell me the combo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, I won’t touch your stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny scowled. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes squawked when he saw Danny phase out the lock. “Hey! You can’t do that! I’m telli—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Lancer that you changed the lock on </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> locker so I can’t get in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes glowered silently while Danny placed his textbooks on the barren top shelf and hung his bag. His back screamed in relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning to Wes, Danny tossed the unopened lock to him. Caught off-guard, Wes fumbled with it, almost dropping it. Danny smirked and started heading to his next class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little more than a week later, Danny walked into his homeroom (he was actually early for once) and sat in the spot between his friends. Apparently he missed something, because they both had their arms crossed and were angrily looking away from each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, hey guys?” Danny said hesitantly. A week ago, they were bickering about keeping the can of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Foley</span>
  </em>
  <span> in their locker. And just yesterday, Sam blew up when Tucker complained about her smelly shoes. What could they possibly be arguing about today?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam spoke up first. “Danny, as the third occupant of our locker, will you please tell Tucker that we are not going to allow him to install </span>
  <em>
    <span>a grill</span>
  </em>
  <span> in our locker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait wha—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam, let the dude make his own decisions. Danny, imagine all the things we can cook. Bacon, sausages, lamb chops...we won’t have to deal with crappy cafeteria food anymore!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actu—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tucker, don’t you realize how ridiculous you sound? No teacher is going to let you put a kitchen appliance in a locker! And I don’t want my stuff smelling like meat juice!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam, they aren’t gonna find out. If anything, we can just bribe them with bacon. Right Danny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not going to fall for your bribe when there’s a freaking fire hazard in there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, lighten up. I guess it’d be difficult getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to understand the true power of bacon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam leaned back in her chair and scoffed. “Danny, can you believe this guy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tucker gripped Danny’s shoulder and whispered excitedly, “Imagine, no more caf food!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking between his friends, Danny sighed. “Guys, I don’t think I’m qualified enough to help you make this decision.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you are. You keep your stuff in there too,” Sam insisted, almost with a hint of desperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually...it’s just the ghost hunting equipment. I’ve...I’ve started using my other locker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” his friends exclaimed in unison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yea, it’s kinda crowded in your locker already. I’m just keeping my textbooks and backpack in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Danny, we can make more space for you man,” Tucker affirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it might be tight but you don’t have to do this,” Sam agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look guys, he barely keeps anything in there anyways. I haven’t even seen him near it for like a week. It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Sam asked worriedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ye—” Suddenly Lancer cleared his throat at the front of the classroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny groaned when he saw “</span>
  <b>Hamlet essay due tomorrow</b>
  <span>” on the chalkboard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I c-can’t believe they’re f-forcing me to g-go with everyth-thing happening with s-school! C-couldn’t they have chosen Win-winter break? Thanksgiving w-week?” Sam complained, shivering from the late October chill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H-how long wi-will you be gone?” Tucker asked, also shivering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One week I-I think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny frowned when he noticed how cold his friends felt. He shouldn’t have just worn a t-shirt today. Ever since his ice core had “awakened”, he never had a problem with cold weather. In fact, sometimes he forgot to wear a coat when leaving his house in the dead of winter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too late to change his clothes now. But there is something else he can do. “Guys, come closer,” he said, placing his arms around his friends’ shoulders. He focused on heating up his energy and allowed it to seep through his skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His cold friends sighed, feeling the warmth. After a moment, Sam peered at him quizzically. “Danny, you know the door’s right there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ignored her remark. “How could you not be psyched that you’re getting an extra week off? In the Bahamas!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Tucker agreed. Danny retreated his arms to push open their school’s front doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not getting an extra week off though. I still gotta keep up with all my homework and assignments. And my parents don’t care at all, they seem to be under the delusion that they could bribe me into any college they want!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Approaching his locker, Danny grabbed his stuff for class and then turned his bag intangible, placing it inside his locker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think it’s a delusion, have you seen that article about all those rich parents who got involved in that huge college admissions scandal?” Tucker brought up as they continued towards their own locker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly, now it’s all the more harder for them to do it. And that’s even if I allow them,” she asserted as she opened her locker with Tucker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny stood back as his friends grabbed their things for class, mentally going over his notes for his physics test coming up in third period. He was so glad he got to study last night with zero interruptions. Still, that didn’t mean he was any less nervous. If he screws up this test, he’ll probably screw up the rest of his grade. He’ll honestly give it his best shot, but, regardless, he’d really just like to fast-forward right to lunch. Besides, he had his mom’s clam chowder from last night to look forward to then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tucker swung their locker closed. “Whatever Sam, they’re your parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know,” she grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny practically skipped to his locker after finishing his test. It was so easy!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t even need to look at the formula sheet once, he already remembered them from doing his homework. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Opening the door, he grabbed his bag and stuck his hand inside it to fish for his lunch. Maybe his physics grade wouldn’t be so bad after all. Probably even good enough for college admissions. Danny allowed a bit of hope for his dreams to fill his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just needed good enough grades this year to get into any science college program. And then he’ll just complete his masters, do a bit of work in whatever he studies, and then the NASA physical test should be a piece of cake! He couldn’t contain the grin that appeared on his face. His future wasn’t hopeless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a renewed sense of vigor, he dug deeper for the thermos keeping his lunch. But then, he faltered when he couldn’t feel it. He dumped out everything in his bag, yet his lunch was missing. Weird. He huffed as he looked over the rest of the locker. It wasn’t there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did he forget to pack it this morning? His mom left it on the table, did he take it? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His expression melded into a frown, he probably did leave it at home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Crappy caf food it is,” he muttered, slamming his locker shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes was going off on another spiel about Phantom’s true identity in the centre of the cafeteria. Danny barely paid him any mind as he sat down with his lunch tray.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tucker cautiously eyed his friend’s grumpy look. “Hey dude, how was the test?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny suddenly perked up at that. “Surprisingly, it was really good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw that’s good to hear man, I think I messed up on the rollercoaster question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh that one? I think I used the centripetal acceleration formula,” Danny recalled as he brought up a spork full of dry salad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t I thi—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um guys, where did Wes get that from?” interrupted Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny curiously spared a glimpse at the annoying red-haired boy standing up on a table several feet away. However, his look morphed into a furious glare when he caught what he was holding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tucker groaned, “Man, I hope there’s no ghost in there for him to accidentally release again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny’s friends startled when he abruptly stood up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen everyone! I have found this ghost containment device, that Phantom regularly uses, in our shared locker,” Wes yelled to the irritated students around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up Wes!” Kwan shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I won’t. Can you guys see? Why would h—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His parents invented them dumbass!” Valerie hollered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which makes sense why Pha—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes froze as the very ghost he was trying to expose suddenly stepped on his table and glowered right at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With barely restrained anger, Danny demanded, “Give me back my lunch, Wes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes looked between the thermos and him before bursting into laughter. “You—you think I’d fall for that?” he cried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Wes continued to laugh, Danny’s eyes began to burn a bright green. “I’m serious Wes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ignoring his threat, Wes noticed his eyes and enthusiastically exclaimed, “Everyone look! His eyes are doing it again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny grunted as he attempted to swipe back his lunch. “You promised you wouldn’t go through my stuff!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jumping back, Wes cradled the thermos closer to him. “I promised nothing. You were the one who promised.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny had to use so much restraint to stop himself from lunging at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyways,” Wes continued, raising the thermos above his head, “if your lunch was in fact in here, then explain what happens when I press this!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of the students in the cafeteria suddenly protested, all too well remembering the ghost wasp incident. Unfortunately, it was too late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time instead, a chunky cream-coloured liquid gushed out the thermos, drenching everyone surrounding the two boys.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh man, it feels so good to finally post this. I wanna thank everyone who bothered reading my little excerpt of this on Tumblr. I hope I did not disappoint</p><p>I didn't mean for this to become a multi-chaptered fic,,,honestly it was only supposed to be a oneshot</p><p>Anyways, I sorta have a rough plot laid down. But, if you have any funny/interesting ideas for scenes I could write for this, PLEASE let me know! </p><p>Next chapter should be up next Friday. I hope. Feel free to bug me on <a href="https://srsly-messed-up-fruitloop.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> :D</p><p>P.S. I'm telling you, Sam has smelly feet. She wears those clunky goth boots all year long (also, please let me self-project my high school years in peace)<br/>P.P.S. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html">That article</a> Tucker mentioned</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Stench</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WOAH<br/>I actually managed to post this in time</p><p>This chapter's quite a bit shorter than the previous, and the next probably will be too. I know everyone interprets Wes differently, so if you want an idea of where he's coming from in this fic, you should read <a href="https://srsly-messed-up-fruitloop.tumblr.com/post/619230508542558208/superheroes-arent-real-a-very-short-thing-i-wrote">this</a>. You don't have to though</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A month has passed since Danny and Wes had served their detentions (unfortunately Mr. Lancer’s favouritism didn’t extend to Casper’s basketball players). However, like always in the past, the chowder incident didn’t deter Wes from trying to expose him. And like before, Danny just ignored the lunatic’s attempts. At least he hasn’t tried taking any more of his stuff from their shared locker since.</p><p>Slamming his locker shut, Danny made his way to find Tucker. It was Tucker’s suggestion to go on patrol right after school since he had something planned later in the evening. However, no matter how many times Danny asked, he wouldn’t say what that something was. Too bad Sam was on vacation now. For sure she would’ve been able to squeeze the truth out of him.</p><p>When Danny approached his friend, he was kneeling, with his entire upper body swallowed up his locker.</p><p>“Uh, Tuck?”</p><p>Without budging from his position, Tucker responded, “Yo Danny, just give me a sec. I just need to finish with this wiring.”</p><p>Danny just stood there, observing the various tools surrounding his friend before his eyes finally settled on an empty box for a George Foreman grill.</p><p>“Tuck...you didn’t...”</p><p>“Aha!” Tucker exclaimed enthusiastically. He backed out of the locker and admired his work. “Now let’s test this baby out.”</p><p>Danny watched wordlessly as he plugged something in a makeshift AC outlet inside the locker. A light beaconed from the top shelf, and there he spotted the grill.</p><p>Meanwhile, Tucker jumped up in glee. “Yeah baby! Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!”</p><p>“But…” Danny paused as he noticed the stack of textbooks on the floor by his feet. “What about your textbooks?</p><p>Tucker motioned to the empty space at the bottom of the locker. “Thank god Sam took home her shoes, I’m just gonna dump ‘em all there.”</p><p>“And Sam?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“She’s going to be furious.”</p><p>“Let her, I’m doing her a favour. I’m pretty sure you can grill vegetables too,” Tucker said as he began cleaning up. </p><p>Danny stooped down to help him. “How did you even get the time to do this?”</p><p>He shrugged. “Just did it all in my spare.”</p><p>“Wait, you have a spare?”</p><p>“Yeah, last period. You didn’t know?”</p><p>Danny struggled to recall if Tucker ever told him this. His mind has been a whirl since school started. “I guess I forgot. Hold up, why don’t you go straight home then? You don’t have to wait for us.”</p><p>“Nah dude it’s okay, I actually get a lot more done studying at the library here than the entire evening at home,” Tucker assured as he placed the last tool in his backpack. He stood up and fished out his PDA from his pocket, checking off ‘Install grill’ from his to-do list.</p><p>“I see what you mean,” Danny understood, remembering how much of a distraction his parents were at home. Now that Jazz had left for Stanford, it seems that his parents have doubled their efforts to spend time with him. He gets it, they missed Jazz a lot. And in less than a year he’ll be gone off to college too (hopefully). Still, they were pretty distracting, especially when they had a new invention or discovery to show off. Thankfully he had a spare next semester.</p><p>“So Tuck, before we start, are you gonna tell me your ‘special plans’ later?” he inquired for the last time, trying to inject as much ‘Sam’ into his voice.</p><p>“Nope,” he replied, popping the ‘p’.</p><p>Danny pouted. Before he could say anything else, he gasped when an icy fog escaped his mouth.</p><p>“Guess we’re starting patrol at the school today,” Tucker stated nonchalantly as he activated the ghost radar on his PDA. </p><p>Looking both ways down the hall and confirming no one else was around, Danny transformed. </p><p>Meanwhile, peering around the corner of the hallway in his basketball uniform, Wes seethed as he witnessed Fenton’s transformation for the seventeenth time! And like always, he didn’t have his camera with him. Why did basketball tryouts have to be today?</p><p>“Dammit!” he exclaimed, angrily stomping back to the gym.</p><p>How many times does he have to watch Fenton expose himself before the school finally takes a hint? Why are they so damn oblivious? Three years have passed and he still has yet to open anyone’s eyes to the truth! And Fenton has been masquerading as the town’s hero the entire time!</p><p>He doesn’t have much time left. Once he leaves for college, he’ll lose his chance. Sure, he could continue posting on his blog, but the seven visitors he gets every month either think it’s a joke or never heard of Danny Phantom. And who knows where Fenton’s heading after high school. He’d probably be stuck relying on his old evidence. Which isn’t even that effective, considering all the convincing it’s done so far. </p><p>Time is running out. He refuses to let all these years go to waste. He’s dedicated his whole being to this. He cannot fail, he <em> needs </em> them to believe him. Otherwise, what has been his purpose all this time?</p><p>He can’t—they have to eventually believe him, right? He cannot go down that path again; the world <em> needs </em> him to prove this. </p><p>He’s the only person who can. </p><p>But what else he could do? He’s come to realize that Mr. Lancer gifted him the perfect opportunity to get close without faking being friends. Yet, except for the thermos that one day, Fenton hasn’t stored anything suspicious in their locker. Fenton must be keeping his weapons in his stupid sidekicks’ locker. That doesn’t help him at all!</p><p>There must some advantage to this sharing lockers thing. Some way...the memory of Fenton’s furious green eyes flashed through his mind. </p><p>That’s right! Fenton’s temper brings out the ghost in him. And Wes has the perfect opportunity to get under his skin. Once the ghost loses control in front of everyone…</p><p>Then he'll finally fulfill his purpose.</p><p>~</p><p>A yawn escaped from Danny as he trudged into school the next day. On autopilot, he grabbed his supplies from his bag and went to phase it into his locker. Except, when he leaned closer and his arm was halfway through the door, he stopped and sniffed. Something <em> reeked </em>.</p><p>Scrunching up his nose, he cautiously opened the door and cringed as the stench hit him full force. His eyes darted around the locker until they settled on the source of the offensive smell.</p><p>Wes’ basketball uniform. It was innocently lying crumpled at the bottom of the locker, but the stink it emanated was criminal. He suddenly felt the urge to hurl. </p><p>Didn’t Wes ever hear of deodorant? He didn’t know whether to feel disgusted or concerned. </p><p>He was tempted to toss it into the trash bin in the hallway, but that would mean touching the smelly jersey and shorts.</p><p>Unable to stand it any longer, he kicked his locker shut and quickly retreated to his homeroom, backpack still on him. </p><p>~</p><p>“Yo, Danny, you okay?” Tucker asked worriedly, noticing the sick look on his face when he sat down beside him.</p><p>Danny shook his head as he placed his books on the desk. “No. I…” he began, pausing when he saw his locker partner enter the classroom. “I need to talk to Wes,” he finished before abruptly standing up and striding towards him.</p><p>“What do you want, Fenton?” Wes coldly demanded. </p><p>“You left your gym clothes in the locker.”</p><p>“Yeah, so? I’ll need them again for practice tomorrow.”</p><p>“Wes, they stink.”</p><p>“Yeah, right,” he scoffed before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “It’s not that bad. You should feel lucky you’re not sharing with any of the other jocks.”</p><p>“You’re hardly a jock.”</p><p>“At least I’m something. Something real. You—you parade around this false loser facade, but I know who you really are Phantom,” he declared, poking him right in the chest. “And one day I’ll expose your true colours to the whole world.”</p><p>Danny really wasn’t in the mood this morning. Batting away Wes’ accusing finger, he cut straight to the chase, “Look, please just don’t keep your bas—”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>The two boys met each other’s eyes in a glaring contest. Neither side wanted to back down. After a few moments, Danny continued, “Why not?”</p><p>“I’m just as entitled to keep whatever I want in there as you are. You don’t hear me complaining about your ghost weapons.”</p><p>He was truly starting to lose his patience now. “No. Instead, you take my lunch and get us detention for spraying it on everyone.”</p><p>“Any other day I could’ve exp—”</p><p>
  <em> BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING </em>
</p><p>The two boys jolted as the bell rang.</p><p>“We’re not finished here,” Danny grunted before heading back to his seat. Why didn’t he just get rid of that horrible stench right then and there? One ectoblast would’ve surely turned those clothes to ashes.</p><p>~</p><p>“Sausage?” Tucker offered when Danny sat at their lunch table.</p><p>Danny eyed the smoke swirling from the meat. “Did you just make those?”</p><p>“Yup, here, try one,” he said while picking up one with a pair of tongs.</p><p>Before accepting it, Danny muttered, “Sam is going to be so mad.”</p><p>“I know. Anyways, what went down between you and Wes this morning?”</p><p>Danny swallowed a mouthful of sausage before he started, “He left his clothes from basketball practice in our locker.”</p><p>“And...?”</p><p>“Tuck, they stink.”</p><p>“My dude...” He pulled out a can of <em> Foley </em> and pushed it across the table. “You’re lucky that we’re friends. I’ll let you borrow it, free of charge.”</p><p>Danny scrunched up his nose from an overly musky smell coming from the so-called cologne. “Tuck, this will just make it worse.”</p><p>Smirking, he smoothly replied, “Precisely. How do you figure I got Sam to take her shoes home?”</p><p>“Oh,” he realized, matching Tucker’s smirk with his own.</p><p>~</p><p>“FENTON, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CLOTHES?” Wes shrieked when he stomped over to his desk the next morning.</p><p>Feigning innocence, Danny raised an eyebrow and responded, “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“My uniform, you—YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T TOUCH MY STUFF!”</p><p>“And I didn’t.”</p><p>“Liar.”</p><p>Technically, he wasn’t lying. He just sprayed a little <em> Foley </em> at a certain spot in their locker. Okay, maybe not a little.</p><p>“I didn’t touch anything. It’s not my fault you’re just realizing how much your clothes stink,” he shrugged indifferently.</p><p>“I’ll...I’ll get you back for this Fenton!” Wes promised before stomping back to his seat.</p><p>Danny turned to an amused-looking Tucker and they both began to snigger.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I am determined to finish this before my classes start. Next update will be a Christmas chapter just because. Yes, I know it's August</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Danny Still Hates Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next week, Danny was greeted by the sight of a very pissed off Sam giving Tucker the silent treatment. He had warned him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting down in his seat, Danny hesitantly asked, “Hey Sam, how was your trip?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her vicious glare redirected to him. “Danny, how could you let him install the grill?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” He looked over to Tucker, who looked like he was about to cry. “I told him it was a bad idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I tried, Sam.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam glowered at him for a moment longer before sighing. “Fine. Trip was alright. But I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind on everything now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took notice of her slightly tanned face. “Didn’t get much time to study?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, ugh. My parents wouldn’t leave me alone for a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like they’re gonna miss you when you’re gone off to college,” he remarked, remembering his own parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t be gone off to college if they don’t let me study,” she huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right then, Mr. Lancer strolled in the classroom wearing a Christmas sweater with “TO BE OR NOT TO BE JOLLY” knitted on the front.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny couldn’t help the scornful look that appeared on his face. He never could stand the holidays. Every year, when stores started playing their annoyingly repetitive Christmas playlists, every channel on TV kickstarted their broadcast of the same five Christmas movies, and everybody in his life began to treat each other with an exaggerated cheer, he just wanted to vomit. Call him a Scrooge, the Grinch, he doesn’t care. He’d rather go to sleep and wake up in January than go through it all again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later that day after school, Danny questioned his entire purpose as he weaved around the mall’s annoying Christmas decorations (more like obstacles) to chase Spectra. Apparently, for the last week, she has been making kids miserable by telling them Santa Claus isn’t real. Which...well, despite how true she is, it still isn’t right for her to relish in their despair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww Danny, you’re so boring. You won’t even let me have some fun, it’s almost Christmas,” Spectra teased as she shot an ectoblast behind her towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny grunted, barely dodging it. “I think you’re misunderstanding the definition of fun. One, in any dictionary you will not find ‘making children miserable’ under ‘fun’. Two, nothing associated with Christmas is fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah right, I almost forgot how much of a Scrooge you are. But we know you act this way to hide something deeper. Tell me Danny, why do you bury those traumatic memor—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up Spectra!” Danny yelled before shooting a blast back at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She easily dodged it, and smirked at how easily ruffled the boy got. His frustration was so delicious! Spotting Bertrand in his human form, quietly approaching with a string of colourful fairy lights behind him, her smile grew even wider.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Danny could react, Bertrand tossed the fairy lights like a lasso, catching his leg and slamming him to the ground. The mall tile instantly cracked upon impact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bertrand harshly pulled a Santa hat over the boy’s head before flying off with his companion, cackling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes filmed the entire exchange with his brand new camera while he hid behind a trash receptacle. He couldn’t help but wince when Fenton hit the tile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, he’s a ghost, he’ll be fine,” he muttered to himself, zooming in on Fenton’s form as he slowly got up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fenton yanked the hat off his head and grumbled, “I hate Christmas,” before chucking it to the ground and taking off to confront the two ghosts again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes stopped the camera and frowned. Fenton hates Christmas? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could anyone—okay, sure, no doubt the concept of Santa actually came from Satan and the holidays are practically an excuse in today’s society for corporations to milk more money from their consumers. But, even he himself couldn’t help but feel a little happier during the holidays!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, this only further proves Fenton’s true identity. Only a ghost could feel so hateful towards such a merry time of the year, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, an imaginary light bulb lit up above Wes’ head. His eyes locked on the nearest store selling Christmas decorations and he naughtily grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Danny could have it his way, he’d just spend the entire day lying in bed. His back was so sore from the fight with Spectra and Bertrand yesterday. Even his self-healing abilities weren’t enough to ease the pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, he had to show up today, he had a math test. And a physics lab that counted for twenty percent of his grade. He couldn’t even tell himself that he could rest after school, his entire week was jam-packed with evaluations. It was the last week before winter break but to Danny, it felt like an eternity would pass before he’d get to relax. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was so looking forward to the break. Don’t get him wrong, he still despised everything to do with Christmas. But he’d happily welcome a break any day. Ghosts also generally calm down around this time because of their truce. Although, Spectra yesterday definitely was an exception.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he pondered any longer on that thought, Danny sluggishly opened his locker and froze at what he saw. Every inch of it was covered in loud red and green Christmas wrapping paper, flashing multi-coloured fairy lights lined the door, and ornaments hung from the two hooks. He went to grab his physics textbook and growled when he realized all of his books were also covered in wrapping paper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah there Danny, I thought you weren’t much of the festive type?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny whipped his head towards the sound of Sam’s voice. “I didn’t do this! Wes—he even wrapped my textbooks!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It only infuriated him even more when he noticed Sam trying to suppress a laugh. “It’s not funny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However those words were lost to her when she couldn’t contain it anymore. Danny scowled and began ripping off the paper on his textbooks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few moments later, Sam finally calmed down just when he started to harshly tug on the fairy lights. “You know, even though it’s pretty cheesy to me, people do this. The whole decorating lockers kind of thing. Heck, Paulina still maintains that shrine of you in hers. Maybe Wes just really likes Christmas?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I don’t! It’s my locker too,” he angrily insisted as he continued to pull.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“True. You should still talk to him before doing that,” she said, watching him grip an ornament as if he wanted to crush it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused. “Why are you even trying to defend Wes when you still won’t talk to Tucker?”</span>
</p><p><span>She instantly shot an indignant look at him. “That is totally different! I told</span> <span>him not to do it, yet he did it anyways!”</span></p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You should still talk to him</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Danny repeated in a mocking tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh! Fine, go and tear down those decorations!” she snapped before stomping off towards their first class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He coolly observed her retreating form for a moment before crushing the ornament in his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny and Sam were already sitting at their lunch table toying with their food and complaining about all their assignments when Tucker walked up to them with a steaming tupperware container. Sam’s look instantly melded into a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tucker seriously? I already told you to get rid of that grill and now you’re here making food for yourself?“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam. Here, take this.” Tucker calmly offered the container. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I don—“ she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed it was filled with grilled zucchini slices.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try one,” Tucker urged. “I promise, I cleaned the grill properly before cooking these.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny was almost sure she was going to reject it. Except, she grudgingly reached out and grabbed one with her spork. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you put on this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged, “Olive oil, some salt, black pepper, herbs, garlic and onion powder, oh and balsamic vinegar. Just like how you taught me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She eyed the slice for a moment longer before taking a bite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, by the end of lunch, if you still don’t want it, I’ll uninstall the grill, alright?” Tucker proposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam seemed much calmer now and Danny couldn’t tell if she liked the zucchini or not. “Tucker, I’m mad at you because you didn’t listen to me. It’s our locker we share together, we’re supposed to make decisions together.“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Sam. I just...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, you promise that you’ll take full blame when a teacher finds out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No teacher is goi—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tucker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, Sam smiled and went to grab another slice of zucchini. “What do you say about me bringing in a spice rack tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tucker looked at her in disbelief for a second before responding, “Heck yeah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Danny was grinning. His friends will always have their squabbles. But somehow, they manage to work it out in the end every time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Abandoning his own bland lunch, he picked up his spork just when Tucker began to dig in.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I actually don't really like the whole meat vs veggie trope and was considering scrapping the whole grill fiasco. Thanks to witchysolfan's <a href="https://witchysolfan.tumblr.com/post/627833557200584705/tucker-actually-trying-vegetarianvegan-foods-in">post</a> on Tumblr, I figured out a way to properly end it :)</p><p>I'm done writing out the rest of this, just stuck on editing since it's currently a mess. But otherwise, I did it! I managed to finish before my classes start :D</p><p>Tentatively, we're sitting at 2 more chapters after this. Next update on Friday!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Photographs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh boy, I am SO glad I finished writing everything before school started. I barely got the time to even post this. Enjoy!</p><p>Warning: There's a bit of blood in this one</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Final exam season had finally come. To say the seniors of Casper High were stressed was an understatement, college application deadlines were also quickly approaching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes Weston however, was stressed for a whole other reason. His attempt before winter break to awaken the angry ghostliness in Fenton wasn’t enough. He only saw Fenton ripping out all the decorations, without glowing green eyes or anything else ghostly he could catch on camera. And to make manners worse, the school’s caretaker blamed him for leaving shattered ornaments in the halls so he winded up with detention. It wasn’t even his fault!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stealing another glance at the classroom’s wall clock, he scowled when he realized that he still had twenty minutes to burn until his computer science exam ended. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Might as well not let this time go to waste. Pushing aside his completed exam, he grabbed a scrap piece of paper and began to brainstorm other ways to infuriate Fenton. He stole a glance at Fenton’s sidekick, Foley, hastily writing away. Frowning, he turned back to his page. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, for Danny, he has never felt this anxious ever before in his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before, when he was barely scraping by in class, he was beginning to accept that his dreams would remain as that. Just dreams. Protecting the town would always come first. He became indifferent to his grades because 1) he’d convinced himself that he was a bad student, nothing could change that, and 2) it wasn’t that important anyways. He could deal with his parents’ disappointment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, after dealing with his exhausting responsibilities for a few years now, he finally learned to properly manage his time. And it showed when he found out he ended last year with a B+ average.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He told himself it was just a fluke, there’s no way Danny Fenton could get those grades. At most, he was a C- student. Yet, a tiny spark of hope flared up and drove Danny to try harder this year. Perhaps it was just a fluke, but who knows? What if it happened again?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when it kept happening, sometimes even getting back A’s on his tests, then it hit him. He was actually capable of doing well in school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Allowing himself to believe that meant that his childhood aspirations were possible. But, there was always that question in the back of his mind: What if this all was just a fluke? His luck could run out anytime. He could easily fail all his exams and lose his chances. And what then?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could not come back after letting himself believe that he had a future to look forward to. Of all the times he had barely escaped being destroyed by his enemies, it didn’t compare to the mounting fear he had of not getting into college. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That fear was only accentuated by his stressed classmates. Danny felt ill every time he heard Star talking about all the schools her brother was rejected from, Mikey and Nathan discussing admission cutoffs, and practically everyone going into a panic when their average lowered. Even Dash was worried about meeting his minimum requirement for his football scholarship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thing is, Danny couldn’t even look forward to college itself. Don’t get him wrong, he likes learning, especially about space. But he would have to endure four more years of school, plus another two for a masters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, he just told himself to suck it up. It was a necessary sacrifice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now though, he was conflicted. He had to do his undergrad in some science-related college program to be eligible for the space program. However, what if he ended up in an undergrad program he didn’t like? He’d be stuck with it. What if college is too hard for him? He could very well fail everything and get kicked out. Then he wouldn’t even be able to continue to get a masters. And of course, the biggest question of them all: would he able to handle juggling his ghostly responsibilities and college for the next six years? Heck, with how stressed out Jazz seems these days, how much worse would it be for him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny was simultaneously afraid of both getting in and not getting into college.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Danny, you alright?” asked Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like always, he pushed these worries away into that overcrowded space in the back of his mind. “Yeah, ‘m fine,” he mumbled before rereading the same sentence in his textbook for the twentieth time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure? We could just take a bre—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, his ghost sense went off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny gripped his bleeding forearm. He just needed it to clot, then his self-healing would eventually kick in. But it wasn’t clotting. He worriedly watched as his blood tinged with ectoplasm dripped onto the floor. This wasn’t good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up at Sam with desperate eyes, who bit her lip. “Hang on, I think have something that’ll help. Be right back,” she assured before scurrying from their secluded refuge under the staircase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She returned not even a minute later, holding a flat square object wrapped in colourful plastic. Danny’s eyes widened and before he could even protest, she unpackaged and wrapped it around his wound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam’s gaze hardened when he started squirming away. “Danny, it’s just a pad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bu—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s either this or one of your socks. Now relax, we need to get the bleeding to stop before next period.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s next period?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bio exam, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dammit.” He thumped his head against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, we’ve still got a bit of time bef—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two teens tensed as they heard footsteps coming from the height of the staircase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Danny, quick, hide it!” she said in a panicked whisper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How am I supposed to hide a bleeding arm?!” he quietly exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She huffed at his reply before swiftly releasing her pressure on his arm, rolling up his sweater sleeve over the pad, and using his other hand to press on the wound again through his sweater.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, hello Mr. Fenton, just the man I was looking for. And Ms. Manson,” Lancer greeted, suspiciously eyeing how close the two teens were sitting. He wasn’t naive, he was aware of what some of his students get up to in these secluded areas of the school. “I’m sorry to interrupt, can I have a word with you Daniel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Lancer, I swear I-I...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, you’re not in trouble. I’d just like a moment to speak with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” Danny hesitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is not the best time, you can always speak to me later. Although, I implore you that you should see me sooner than later on this matter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…okay.” He glanced at Sam, who was frowning in worry. Forcing a reassuring smile on his face, he stood up from her and followed Lancer to his classroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they walked through the halls, he tried to arrange his arms in a more casual position while placing a little more pressure on the wound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Fenton, I recall reading that you aspire to become an astronaut from one of your essays in 9th grade,” Lancer mentioned as he unlocked his classroom’s door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Following him into the classroom, Danny replied warily, “Uh...yeah?” How the heck did Lancer remember something so minuscule from something he wrote ages ago?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His English teacher approached his desk and grabbed something from a drawer. “Have you heard of the Young Astronauts program?” he asked, presenting a pamphlet to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No?” Danny momentarily released his hold on his injured arm to accept it, only to regret when he felt something warm drip down his arm. Shit! He held the pamphlet with his index and middle finger while quickly resuming his hold, praying for nothing to bleed through his sleeve. Why won’t it clot already??</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Lancer scrutinized his unusual movements for a moment before continuing, “I’ve been informed that this program fast tracks you to becoming an astronaut at NASA. Though it’s very competitive, once in, you only have to complete a four year practical program before you’re fully eligible for the space program.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” He used his thumb to flip through the brochure, getting more excited as he read the outline of the program. However, once he reached the admission requirements section, his excitement suddenly deflated. “What makes you think I can get in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daniel, if you maintain what you have right now, your grades will be good enough for the requirements. Also, I’d be more than happy to write that letter of reference for you,” he smiled warmly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His teacher’s sincerity caught him by surprise. “Oh, uh...thanks Mr. Lancer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anytime. Now, I think there’s an email at the back to contact if you have any questions. I won’t steal any more of your precious studying time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right when Danny’s foot was out the door, Lancer spoke up again, “Actually, there’s one more thing I mean to ask. Is your arm okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His question stopped Danny right in his tracks. “What do you m-mean?” he nervously asked, voice cracking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I can’t help but notice how you’re holding your arm there,” he commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Danny’s brain frantically searched for an excuse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lancer frowned at his hesitation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s...it’s a temporary tattoo,” he blurted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pardon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you know those stick-on tattoos you have to press down for like a minute? I-yeah,” Danny improvised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lancer blinked. He did not expect that reply at all from the boy. Though, it did make sense. “Ah, very well. See you later Daniel. Good luck on your finals.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny uttered out a goodbye before he all but ran to the bathroom to check his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny jumped when he felt someone poking him. Turning around, he realized it was only Sam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About what happened yesterday, I think you need this.” She thrust a big first-aid kit in his arms. “We really shouldn’t resort to using my pads anymore,” she chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, I already have one at home though?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I think we need one here. Just keep it in your locker, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” He suddenly thought of Wes. Would he even stoop that low to use this as evidence? Probably. Danny sighed, he better not mess with it. This kit looked pretty expensive…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam, you didn’t have to go and buy this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s no big deal. I wanted to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bu—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Danny, I don’t have time for this. Stop being stubborn and just take it,” she insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” He unhappily grabbed the first-aid kit. “One day I’m paying you back for everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You honestly don’t have to. Anyways, gotta go!” she blurted before hurrying to her English exam. Two seconds later, the bell rang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit, their English exam! He quickly dumped the kit at the bottom of his locker and ran after her. Hopefully Wes wouldn’t make too big of a deal out of the kit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny turned the corner of the hall and halted in his step when he saw Wes at their locker. Nope, he wasn’t dealing with him today. There was way too much on his mind with the start of the new semester. Calculus was already proving to be the bane of his existence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to turn around but had to do a double-take when he noticed Paulina was there too. Talking to Wes. Weird.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was too far to hear what they were saying, but Danny’s former crush seemed to be really excited for some reason. Wes then pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. Danny swore he saw Paulina discreetly slip a wad of cash into his other hand before accepting the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What the heck. What could Wes possibly have that Paulina would pay that kind of money for? You know what, he wasn’t even gonna ask. He needs to start heading to chemistry. Wes could be selling drugs for all he knows; he doesn’t care. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing Wes that morning almost completely slipped from Danny’s mind until he approached his locker after school, this time with a backpack full of textbooks from his new classes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He instantly spotted a yellow sticky note on the door which read “MEET ME @ BACK FIELD - DASH” in a hastily scrawled script.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two most popular kids at Casper High both reached out to Wes today. That doesn’t just happen to anyone, especially someone like Wes. Danny couldn’t help but feel a little curious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Selling drugs seems a little too out-of-character for him. He’s the type of person to expose the school’s drug dealers instead of being one himself. What else could he be selling then? Test answers? No, the semester just started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Danny placed his books on the top shelf, he paused when he noticed a small envelope in the very back. Squinting a bit, he saw that it had “Dash” written on it in tiny letters. Upon grabbing it, it felt like it contained something like cardstock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait. After flipping it, he realized the envelope wasn’t sealed up. And he caught the slight shine of photos peeking from inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Last time he heard, neither Dash nor Paulina were interested in photography...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could even act on his now burning curiosity, an all too familiar voice startled him, causing him to drop the envelope in his hands. Its contents spilled all over the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fenton, what are you doing?!” screamed Wes before stomping over to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” Danny’s reply was lost to him when he stared in bewilderment at the photos lying on the floor. They all...they were of him. Specifically, him during a fight with Ember last week. What shocked him even more was their quality. There was one where he was kneeling, smirking almost directly at the camera while both of his hands held bright green ectoenergy, casting his face in an eerie yet alluring glow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been selling pictures of me??”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell Fenton? These are supposed to be for Dash!” Wes yelled angrily before crouching, carefully putting back the photos in the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you not hear me? Wh—how long have you been doing this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of your business. The photos are mine, I can do what I want with them,” Wes arrogantly asserted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny couldn’t even fathom the audacity of this guy. He knew Wes sometimes stalked him while he was out as Phantom. Sometimes he annoyingly distracted him with the flash of his camera. However, over time he’d realized there was really no harm to it, as long as Wes stayed out of the way. He only seemed to use the footage for his so-called “evidence”. Rather than wasting his energy getting him to leave, Danny understood that there were bigger things he should be focusing on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was just crossing a line though. Danny usually doesn’t mind people making money off of his ghost half. In fact, he himself is probably the one who buys most of the unlicensed Phantom merch at Amity’s souvenir shops. But something about seeing Wes doing it too infuriated him to no end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instantly, Danny lunged at him to grab the envelope. Unfortunately, Wes reflexively sidestepped out of the way, and held it behind his back like a basketball a defender was trying to steal. Danny fumed, “Wes, you didn’t even bother to ask to take them! Give them back!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wes kept nothing more than an irritated expression on his face as he continued to hold back the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before Danny was about to take another leap at the red-haired creep, he suddenly heard Dash’s voice from behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Fenturd, get outta the way. I need to talk to Weasel for a sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny snapped his head around to see the school’s quarterback standing there impatiently. Fortunately, because of his growth spurt a year or so back, Dash no longer towered over him. Also, around that time, the bully has gradually moved on to harassing the smaller newer kids at Casper. Dash really wasn’t a problem at all for Danny anymore, though he still couldn’t help feeling at edge around him after all this time. He unconsciously took a few steps away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Wes scowled at his nickname. “Hey, don’t call me that. Otherwise the deal’s off,” he stated in an annoyed tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dash huffed, “Fine.” He pulled out a fifty from his letterman jacket and handed it to Wes, who freely gave the envelope in exchange.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Those demos I showed you last week plus a few extras are all in there,” Wes said while he sifted through the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks good,” Dash commented, unable to keep the giddy smile from appearing on his face. He genuinely thanked Wes before slipping the photos into his pocket and leaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, Wes sneered, “Fenton, I’ll stop when you reveal yourself to everyone. Besides, why the heck should Danny </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fenton</span>
  </em>
  <span> be concerned about me selling photos I took of Danny </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phantom</span>
  </em>
  <span> without his consent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Danny’s glare only hardened as he watched Wes walk off.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You have no idea how long I spent staring into space just to imagine the perfect pose of Danny for that photograph I</p><p>Next chapter on Friday!</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://srsly-messed-up-fruitloop.tumblr.com/post/627601534559141888/lancer-eyeing-danny-holding-his-arm-in-a">sh*tpost inspired by scene with Mr. Lancer</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(I’m clueless about anything sports so pls don’t yell at me if the basketball season timing isn’t correct)</p><p>Warning: There's also blood in this one</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey Tuck, you busy tomorrow?” Danny asked as the trio walked through the halls after school.</p><p>“Um, yea, I’ve got plans,” Tucker replied reluctantly.</p><p>His friends both turned to him in surprise. </p><p>“No way, you actually landed a date on Valentine’s Day?” Sam exclaimed incredulously. </p><p>“Wait n—of course I have a date!” he said all too suddenly.</p><p>“Who is it?” Danny and Sam simultaneously demanded. </p><p>Tucker began to nervously play with his beret. “Heh heh, um...you don’t know them.” </p><p>Danny seemed to easily accept his response. “Oh, okay then. Have fun Tuck.”</p><p>However, Sam was scrutinizing him. He definitely was hiding something. “Tucker, you know you could tell us anything, right?”</p><p>“What? Sam, I do!”</p><p>“Yeah, right.”</p><p>“I’m not hiding anything!”</p><p>Sam didn’t reply. Instead, her gaze bore right into Tucker. Within a few seconds, his resolve crumbled away.</p><p>“Alright, fine! But you guys gotta promise to not tell anyone this, okay?”</p><p>Danny raised an eyebrow at Sam. Honestly, he’ll never get how she does it.</p><p>Meanwhile Sam smirked. “We promise. What’s going on?”</p><p>“Okay, so you know how I’m trying to get into cybersecurity after college?”</p><p>His friends nodded, having a slight idea what it was after hearing him talk about it so much.</p><p>“Well, I’m working with this group, and...errr...we’re trying to...help? Some companies?”</p><p>“What do you mean by help?” Danny questioned.</p><p>Sam added on, “And which companies are you ‘helping’?”</p><p>“Just, um...companies like Chase and Capital One. We’re just...I guess you could say we’re testing their security?” Tucker hesitantly answered.</p><p>“Aren’t those credit card companies?” asked Sam suspiciously.</p><p>“That’s so cool man. I don’t get why you had to hide it from us though,” Danny told him right as he opened his locker.</p><p>Sam knew there was more to it, but dropped it when all three of them spotted an expensive camera simply hanging by the strap off one of the locker hooks.</p><p>“No way, is a Nikon D80?” Tucker exclaimed gleefully before carefully grabbing the camera to admire it.</p><p>Meanwhile, Danny was confused. Wes hardly keeps anything in their locker.</p><p>“Hold up. Tucker, turn it on,” Sam said.</p><p>He eagerly pressed the power button. “Dude, you didn’t have to ask me first.”</p><p>Danny pushed aside a nagging feeling when he saw the menu appear on the screen.</p><p>“Whoa, there’s over a thousand photos in here!” Tucker blurted out. “And...they’re all of you, Danny.”</p><p>Sam scoffed, “This must be what the creep uses to take those pictures he sells.”</p><p>As the trio flipped through the undoubtedly high quality pictures, Danny was suddenly struck by a genius idea. His friends grinned mischievously after he shared what he had in mind.</p><p>~</p><p>Wes was exhausted. The last game of the season was coming up and Ms. Tetslaff was really pushing them to their limits.</p><p>He lumbered to his locker, already feeling an ache from the intense practice he just had. Opening his locker, he gasped when he saw his camera hanging in plain sight. Crap!</p><p>He quickly retrieved the protective pouch from his backpack and delicately placed the camera inside. How could he be so careless? Practice must be really getting to him. He’s so damn lucky that Fenton didn’t take it.</p><p>He’s actually not that lucky at all.</p><p>Later that night as he was going to back up his recent pictures, his stomach dropped when he discovered they were all gone. Instead, there was one new video.</p><p>Wes hesitantly double-clicked to open the video on his computer.</p><p>“Hey everybody! Danny Phantom here,” Danny greeted in the video as he was floating against the backdrop of Casper High’s distinguishable brick wall. Listening real closely, you could hear two other people sniggering in the background. “I’m here to finally come clean about the truth.” </p><p>Wes’ heartbeat picked up. Was he finally going to...?</p><p>Danny continued in the video, “If you go to Casper High, I’m sure you all have heard about the rumours. How Danny Fenton is actually me in disguise. That’s...that’s actually not that far from the truth; my true identity is none other than a Casper High student. I’m tired of hiding it. People of Amity Park, I am actually Wes Weston.” The video abruptly cut out.</p><p>When Wes’ dad heard a loud crash from his son’s room and came up to check on him, the boy could only growl in response.</p><p>~</p><p>To say that Wes was pissed the next day was an understatement. It turns out, that video was also posted online. All of his hard work over the years, just gone, right down the toilet. </p><p>People wouldn’t stop interrupting him in the halls, bugging him to turn invisible or shoot an ectoblast. No matter how much he tried to debunk that video, they continued to wholeheartedly believe that he’s Phantom.</p><p>In history class, Paulina slapped him for charging her for pictures of “himself”. After that, he honestly didn’t want to find out how much worse Dash’s reaction would be. He should probably ditch class until this whole thing blew over.</p><p>As he pried open his locker to get his stuff, he glowered at the sight of Fenton’s first aid kit. Last week, when he showed off the expensive kit as evidence, no one even batted an eye. Are the kids at this school that stupid, that they’d believe a single video of Phantom speaking than years of proof?</p><p>He was about to leave until he noticed a pamphlet sticking out of Fenton’s bag. </p><p>Instantly recognizing the logo on it, his frustration melted away and he couldn’t keep himself from chuckling as he flipped through its pages.</p><p>As he made his way to exit the school, he spotted Fenton walking by himself in the halls. He smirked to himself. Maybe he’ll be able to rile him up enough this time to expose him and get everyone to forget that video. That’ll be the perfect payback.</p><p>“NASA? You want to work for them?”</p><p>Danny jolted out of his thoughts at the sound of Wes’ voice. Surprisingly, he didn’t sound mad at all. Regarding him suspiciously, Danny replied, “Um...yeah?”</p><p>“Wow. I should’ve pegged you as the type to enjoy fabricating hoaxes for a living. We know you already love doing that in your everyday life.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>“Oh Fenton, you know exactly what I’m talking about—NASA, the corporation whose whole aim is generating lies about outer space to deceive the public?”</p><p>“Right, I forgot you were a total conspiracy nut. Listen, I don’t have time for this, I—”</p><p>“I’m betting you’re more than eager to join in on the next fake moon landing. You’d just love the extra attention, wouldn’t you?”</p><p>“We—”</p><p>“Even if it’s for your measly human disguise. But why go through all this work when you could just possess the next ‘astronaut’?”</p><p>“Dude, that is so wrong!”</p><p>“Really? I wouldn’t put it past you.”</p><p>A moment of silence passed, while Danny’s defiant look faltered.</p><p>“Honestly, screw you Wes,” he muttered before walking off.</p><p>Wes could only stare after the now despondent boy, wondering what the heck was wrong with him. It wasn’t like him to just leave, this was supposed to rile him up even more!</p><p>Dammit.</p><p>~</p><p>Weeks later, the buzz around the whole “Wes being Phantom” thing finally died down. Eventually, the inevitable situation came where Phantom and Wes were spotted both being in the same place at the same time. Some people still had their doubts, considering Phantom’s duplication ability was well-known by now. But for the most part, Wes’ life eventually turned back to normal.</p><p>He sighed in relief as the buzzer rang, signaling the end of the final game for Casper’s basketball team. The Elmerton Owls beat them brutally with a score of 78-36. Ms. Tetslaff was shaking her head in anguish.</p><p>He actually wasn’t bothered at all. After all, it was a losing game from the start. Anderson, the best player of the team, broke his leg last weekend in a skiing accident. Wes was just happy that the embarrassing game was over. </p><p>As he fist bumped his team members after finishing up in the change room, he left for his locker. Since the game occurred after school, the halls were completely empty.</p><p>When he turned the corner, what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.</p><p>There, sitting and leaning back beside his locker was none other than Danny Phantom, covered in glowing green ectoplasm and clutching a large gash in his stomach as it threatened to spill more onto the floor.</p><p>Wes could only stand there frozen, taking in Danny’s unmoving form as the pool of ectoplasm inched closer to his white sneakers. </p><p>Suddenly, Danny registered that someone was watching him. Sam? Tucker? Didn’t they already head home? He weakly raised his head to see who it was, only to grimace when he recognized the red-haired creep.</p><p>“What do you want Wes?” he barely managed to croak out.</p><p>Never in Wes’ life had he imagined seeing him in this position. The worse he thought was watching Phantom’s bravado crumble when the world discovered who he truly was. But this...all of it was already gone in this moment. And as the ectoplasm stained his shoes, he began to question himself.</p><p>Wes gulped. He didn’t consider himself to be a caring person. But as Danny sat there, bleeding out before him, he couldn’t…</p><p>After sending him one last look, Wes opened their locker, grabbed the first aid kit at the bottom, and got to work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HEY THANK YOU SO MUCH READER FOR STICKING THROUGH MY FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER FIC EVER I LOVE YOU</p><p>(I know I left the thing with Tucker still open but if you've seen Mr Robot you already know what happens and I'm sorry)</p><p> <br/><a href="https://srsly-messed-up-fruitloop.tumblr.com/post/621262570178887680/wes-isnt-it-so-obvious-that-the-1969-moon">sh*tpost that inspired the thing with Wes and NASA</a></p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Feel free to bug me on <a href="https://srsly-messed-up-fruitloop.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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